How in the world do you book shows (Nashville)

Firstly, thanks for being such an awesome community. Without this site, I would not have the frigging amazing telecaster that I do. I also, would not have the amplifiers/effects that I do. This site has also been inspiration in tones as well. Now I am in need of some difficult to find advice around this area...

We are a band based out of Nashville calling and sending press kits to every place in town with absolutely no luck on finding a venue to play at. We do not play covers and are pushing our original music. Every offer we have gotten has been to play on a Sunday night at about 11pm. We usually do not even get responses back from any of the venues. The ones we have been to in order to network have not contacted us back either. I am at a loss of how to help our band get gigs for exposure.

Our website and music - http://www.17storiesmusic.net

If anyone has any experience in booking a rock band in Nashville please shoot an e-mail to us (admin@17storiesmusic.net) or reply.

Thanks all in advance

At a conference, the owner of The Basement said he received 200 press kits A DAY. He was very honest and said if he hadn't heard of the band he didn't even look at the kit.

To a lesser degree, it's like that everywhere. And out here there are fewer and fewer places that book original bands. It sucks.

There are a lot of folks from Nashville on this board. They'll know the lay of the land...but if I were you I'd be looking at Memphis and Knoxville.

Curious to hear the answers to this one. I'm in NYC and here you can always find a good gig, but good luck getting paid for it. My last band sold out several mid-sized venues on weekends, the most we ever made here was $200. Made way more playing for lesser crowds on tour.

Well, auto, it has gotten weird. When I first moved here I worked house jobs for 5 years. People called, got a band? can you put one together and play at X? It wasn't for 2 hours, it wasn't for the door. If they said they were open 4/5/6 nights a week then that meant we played 4/5/6 nights a week until we got tired of it. I quit for about 15 years and now I can't find a place to play 2 nights in a row much less a week. Now, nobody pays anything, they act like super-studs because they have a place to play and 90,000 players want to play there, most for free or close enough. They ignore you every chance they get or show you the hoops to jump through and once you jump, then they ignore you.

Thanks, karoke!

That said I'm playing tonight in Lebanon at rw's roadhouse if you get over that way. Next week I'm at the handlebar. Ya'll come.

My band plays an American Legion Post near here once a month, but we never got paid. We each got a framed certificate of thanks, that's all. I just feel lucky to play and to have some fun. I am a member a of a songwriters association and I don't think anyone in that has ever got paid... If so, only peanuts. The web has all the music a person might need for the rest of his life.. Our band concentrates on songs from the late fifties thru 1969. The attendees at the VFW are all over 55 and appreciate that. If we wanted to do mostly our originals, they had better be better than the Beatles or we won't be invited back, even for free. We could slip in a few originals to test them out in front of a live crowd, but the people we play for only want to hear 50- 60s music. And that is pretty much how I would feel too. Those were the days of the melody and innocence. Things got so hard edge and violent, and so radical to me, after '69. The guys in my band were in bands in the 50s and 60s, So that's what we like best. We really feel lucky to play for free. Sad but true.

I know your website probably isn't the thing that is stopping you getting gigs, but it certainly isn't helping you...

- If your press kit is sending people to your website they may initially find they have a 30 seconds 'loading' time like I did - not a great first impression.

- If they click your 'shows' page they will see just one, and that was two months ago.

- They will see your 'news' page has one old item that definitely isn't news.

- They will see profiles under the 'band' section that are really just ridiculous hyperbole.

- They may click your Facebook link and see you only have 78 likes.

- And they will get to hear just one music track and no video.

I'm sorry to be brutal, but your website is screaming 'new band with no following that can't even be bothered to keep their website up to date or make a video'. So put yourself in their shoes: why exactly would they give you a gig?

my band has had a website for years and we never get gigs from it. It even has pictures and video as well as live music recorded and played. Google my band and it comes up number one, however no gigs. At the end of this year, goodbye website. Word of mouth has gotten all the gigs over the last 5 yrs. Pay sucks,Pay sucks; hope I made that clear. I can play solo and make $100. I play in the band and we make $200. Guess what, after this year, no drummers. Acoustic jobs pay more now.

You've gotta get out there and beat the bushes in person. Sending out demo/press kits is a waste of money. Go meet the venue mgrs in person and leave them with a CD and website info.

hit every open mike you can. turn down nutting but your collar. go out drinking at the bars you wanna play. play for free. get to know people who may need you in a pinch. ie. bar owners, local art establishments. house party's, everything all of it. it is all for the thrill of the moment so when ever a similar big band comes to town go do an acoustic set in the parking lot. f&^CK a press kit, website,(just in general, not yours, i am sure yours is fine) but get out there. collage campus, play for beer at a frat party. create a buzz and watch the bird fly into the cage.

You've gotta get out there and beat the bushes in person. Sending out demo/press kits is a waste of money. Go meet the venue mgrs in person and leave them with a CD and website info.

And we have a winner! I agree 100%.

hit every open mike you can. turn down nutting but your collar. go out drinking at the bars you wanna play. play for free. get to know people who may need you in a pinch. ie. bar owners, local art establishments. house party's, everything all of it. it is all for the thrill of the moment so when ever a similar big band comes to town go do an acoustic set in the parking lot. f&^CK a press kit, website,(just in general, not yours, i am sure yours is fine) but get out there. collage campus, play for beer at a frat party. create a buzz and watch the bird fly into the cage.

Please ignore this. These kinds of people are why the rest of us can't get booked anywhere.

"play for free" -- hey, buddy, that's what the bedroom at your mom's house is for.

I played Friday with 2 world class guitar players. The drummer was late because his set at the opry (yes, that one) ran late. I was there to add the desired vfw effect to the eveing but we got paid. We always get paid. Having to step over the carcases of those that want to play for beer/food/gas/free is just gumming things up.

^^^^^^^^
What he said!

I don't know exactly what the rest of the country is experiencing but good paying club work for cover bands out here started disappearing almost 10 years ago. Too many originals bands willing to play cheap or for nothing in order to promote a cd they might sell ten copies of. I won't do opening acts for $150 and I won't do hour long sets with 4 other bands on the menu for the night.

For the few dance clubs around who still hire cover bands there are 10 bands trying to book the place and unless you have a following and can keep the place packed for two nights you'll never get in the rotation. Many clubs have gone to one nighters just to rotate more bands. The baby boomers are aging and they were the mainstay crowd for classic rock, country rock and r&b cover bands. Tougher drunk driving laws are keeping many home.

If you're willing to travel a bit there are gigs that pay fairly well but the competition is fierce and you'd better be good or have made a name for yourself. Same with casino gigs which pay but nobody is there to listen to you. They're there to gamble and you're background noise if you can even be heard over KaaChinggg every 30 seconds.

My advice is to find an agency who can get you bookings for parties, reunions, festivals, opening acts, etc and build a bit of a following through those people so they can support your club work. Have them ask the owner or manager at their favorite hangout to book you. Put enough cover tunes into your playlist to please the masses and start hitting clubs that hire your type of band in person with a promo kit, a cd, and a playlist. Find out who books the club and get an audience. Spend a little money for lunch, dinner or a few drinks and start to get to know some of the people who work there and those who hang out there. If they know you and like you they'll most likely come out to listen and you add more people to your following.

Ten to fifteen years ago we had to turn down gigs in order to take some weekends off and now if you can book a half dozen gigs a month you're doing well. The Denver music scene is nothing like Nashville or Memphis or the Coasts so I can only imagine how much more difficult it is to book there.

my band has had a website for years and we never get gigs from it. It even has pictures and video as well as live music recorded and played. Google my band and it comes up number one, however no gigs. At the end of this year, goodbye website. Word of mouth has gotten all the gigs over the last 5 yrs.

OK, so if someone Googles your band your website comes up number one...but as you have found out, no-one is ever going to Google your band unless you are already well known. Having a website as a band is nothing to do with Google (unless you play a specific type of music, for example if someone Googles 'Seattle country covers band' or 'New York wedding band' and you have optimised your site well enough to come up high in the results for those terms).

The website is there to support your word of mouth activity. Having a good website and Facebook page etc. means that when word of mouth is online people can easily click the link and check you out. Word of mouth can and does happen without a website, but having a good one makes it easier.

The website isn't the only thing that matters, but what I was saying was that if the OP is sending out a press kit to venues and they do happen to check out his website, he is almost guaranteeing that he won't get any gigs because the website is doing nothing to convince people to book him.

Cane I see what you are saying, but for a new originals band that has only played one gig, I think he would be better off doing a couple of free shows than sitting around never playing at all. Do a free show, promote the heck out of it, get everyone you know to attend, film it, create some buzz...got to be better than not playing at all? If that annoys a few pros/semi-pros then so be it. Or better still, hire a venue and promote a show yourself, if he really thinks his band is that good and can get plenty of people to come out.

I just can't imagine ANY venue saying 'Hey, you are a new band with no following and no track record of getting people into venues...but we don't care, and we'd love to pay you a few hundred bucks to come to our venue on a potentially lucrative Saturday night and risk having the place empty and our staff standing around being paid to do nothing.'

There was a time when I could get a few gigs here and there around Nashville. I had a few session I had worked and was doing a little more of what I wanted in music. I left for a couple of years to take care of some family matters. I am now trying to get back in the scene, but even in the couple of years I was out, a lot more than just faces have changed. I'm auditioning for a bass slot in an 80s hair metal cover band. Not my cup of tea per se, but it's something at least. I'll do what I have to do to play music; this side of God, family, and a dead end factory job, music is all I've got. I'll play wherever I can and whenever I can outside of work. Free or paid, I have to get my name out there. Maybe I'm wrong, but regardless of pay, a gig is a gig to me.

Well, gigs and jb, I understand what you're saying, I really do. But what I'm saying is; sure you'll get your name out there playing by playing for free. And know what your name will be? It will be the guy that'll play for free. Think about "that girl" we all knew in high school. I bet she had to move to get rid of that reputation, deserved or not.

My band is a year old. We play as often as we want and get paid fairly well most of the time. But our first two gigs were free...we didn't tell anyone we played for free and the venue owners never told anyone either. We all knew the score: we needed to get going and they couldn't take the risk of an empty venue or a rubbish band on a Saturday night.

Those first couple of gigs gave us a chance to look other venues in the eye and say yes, we play well and people come to see us when we do.

Well, gigs and jb, I understand what you're saying, I really do. But what I'm saying is; sure you'll get your name out there playing by playing for free. And know what your name will be? It will be the guy that'll play for free. Think about "that girl" we all knew in high school. I bet she had to move to get rid of that reputation, deserved or not.

I wouldn't do it forever, but to put my name in the hat, yeah I'll play a couple of gigs for nothing. No chance I could/would do it for much more than that. If I could get 5 bucks I'd take it and call it a paying gig though. I need exposure more than anything right now. Not in the least am I trying to "make it big," I just want to make as many shows as I can.

I agree completely Cane, but I guess I can't rationalize giving up a gig if it doesn't pay. Not in my situation now. In the coming months it might very well be a different story; though, you are right on so many levels. Show me a different way and I will do it because I know it will be better for everyone in the long run.

My band is a year old. We play as often as we want and get paid fairly well most of the time. But our first two gigs were free...we didn't tell anyone we played for free and the venue owners never told anyone either. We all knew the score: we needed to get going and they couldn't take the risk of an empty venue or a rubbish band on a Saturday night.

Those first couple of gigs gave us a chance to look other venues in the eye and say yes, we play well and people come to see us when we do.

That's great ... and SUPER rare. Not rare in the sense that it doesn't/can't/shouldn't happen but 'rare' from the angle that YOU had the balls to do that - essentially stand your ground ... and it works, go figure?. And I applaud you! All venue owners in my experience will pay as long as you 'deal' with them (I've documented it here at the tdpri many times in other 'lets play for free' threads).
As for the girl with the reputation analogy (old canes last post). Again, IME dead nuts on! In fact I work for a couple of 'artists' that constantly play for free ( I get paid though) and they've now been doing it for so long that they'll never get paid. And they're good! I like the music and the bands (I just can't afford to work for free) and I think they're just wastin' their time - ? Hell, I even tell 'em that. Whatever.

I guess I should add that we are a covers band, and a genre-specific one at that. We are also good and as tight as anything, so I do now only book gigs that pay enough to make it all worth the effort. I steer clear of places that I know struggle to pay much.

But I also play my own stuff as a solo singer/songwriter and I have never really been paid for that. I have never done what it takes to build any kind of an audience really and I can't pull in any kind of a crowd apart from family, friends and a few die-hard fans a couple of times a year. I pick up the odd support slot here and there at small places and do my stuff for 25 minutes and make some new friends and fans, but I am not the draw and I don't look to get paid.

If I had a 'no-pay no-play' rule with that stuff I would never play at all: there just aren't venues I know about that can afford to pay people who don't pull in a crowd. Mostly I go to little open mics in pubs to play my songs and that's fine with me: the venues don't make a lot from them (20 people mostly making one Coke last all night!) and they would probably do better offering karaoke, but they let the local musos run some open mics and I'm glad they do.

I've only been in Nashville a little over a year now, but it really is who you know combined with working your butt off. I played a few times on Broadway when I first moved down because I am friends with a guy that plays Whiskey Bent Saloon all the time (now he does all the booking, so I should probably be exploiting that connection). He was trying to help me get my foot in the door but ultimately I wasn't able to sustain playing all the time because 1 - I did not know the vocabulary of music that everyone else knows. Coming from a rock/pop background I didn't know all the country classics which is what I'm working on now. 2 - I have a full time job. I just don't have the time required at this point to pound the pavement trying to get gigs.

That being said, the advice I've been given by friends that play REGULARLY is get down to the bars you want to play at and get to know the staff (bartenders/owner/regular band(s)). Try to sit in as much as possible. You'll meet the right people.

Gigs, you gotta do what you can for where you are. klasine is in a HUGE market so things are worse than they are here. Fortuantely there all the wanna be players make a living as actors so.....

Chris, yes you should be talking to your buddy. Here in this place in a year you become aquaintences rather than friends. When I was with a band that was signed the producer was all over me about doing some sessions on other stuff for him while we were cutting. A couple of months after our release we had a month of downtime so I called and said hey, I'd really like to do some sessions. "good luck" was his reply.

I wish I could say I'll use you right now but I'm going 'round and 'round with a guy I've been working with so I'm going back and forth on guitar and bass depending on his mood. I never know what I need until the last minute.

klasine is in a HUGE market so things are worse than they are here. Fortunately there all the wanna be players make a living as actors so ...



It took me second but that's the line of the day (and kinda true - most of the time they make enough scratch to open up their own bar so they can play there). Goes well with, "I'm an actor". "Cool, what restaurant?"

Yeah, along with "I'm an actor". "When does your album come out?"

That said I did play a couple of times with Tom Wopat and he was tons of fun.

Please ignore this. These kinds of people are why the rest of us can't get booked anywhere.

"play for free" -- hey, buddy, that's what the bedroom at your mom's house is for.

I played Friday with 2 world class guitar players. The drummer was late because his set at the opry (yes, that one) ran late. I was there to add the desired vfw effect to the eveing but we got paid. We always get paid. Having to step over the carcases of those that want to play for beer/food/gas/free is just gumming things up.

+1 and a couple zeros after that. :mrgreen:

-Jagg

FWIW (and it ain't worth much) I listened to your stuff. You're in the wrong town.:grin:

You need to play college towns. Make friends with someone who works at college radio stations. Get some airplay. Sometimes you have to travel to find your audience.

Since you are in Nashville and competetion there is so intense, why not consider playing in Clarksville, Hopkinsville, Madisonville, Franklin, KY or Bowling Green KY. All those towns are about an hour from Nashville. Lot's of troops at Ft Campbell so look at Oak Grove, Ky too. As you do shows, have pictures and video of them posted on your webpage.

The market will bear what the market will bear.
Supply and demand.
Too many bands vying for too few venues.

FWIW (and it ain't worth much) I listened to your stuff. You're in the wrong town.:grin:

You need to play college towns. Make friends with someone who works at college radio stations. Get some airplay. Sometimes you have to travel to find your audience.

Why is he in the wrong town? I think there might be a college here. I heard somebody mention one one time. Vanderslauss I think it was.

Why is he in the wrong town? I think there might be a college here. I heard somebody mention one one time. Vanderslauss I think it was.

Don't be a goober, OKW.:lol:

If he can't get booked, he's in the wrong town.

Please ignore this. These kinds of people are why the rest of us can't get booked anywhere.

"play for free" -- hey, buddy, that's what the bedroom at your mom's house is for.

I played Friday with 2 world class guitar players. The drummer was late because his set at the opry (yes, that one) ran late. I was there to add the desired vfw effect to the eveing but we got paid. We always get paid. Having to step over the carcases of those that want to play for beer/food/gas/free is just gumming things up.

Thank you.

Since you are in Nashville and competetion there is so intense, why not consider playing in Clarksville, Hopkinsville, Madisonville, Franklin, KY or Bowling Green KY. All those towns are about an hour from Nashville. Lot's of troops at Ft Campbell so look at Oak Grove, Ky too. As you do shows, have pictures and video of them posted on your webpage.

Kylucky knows this already, but I live near Madisonville, and from This side of Oak Grove to Evansville, Indiana is a worthless venture. There are only a couple of places in Henderson and one in Madisonville. You would swear this area was lost in 1985. Don't come here; it sucks. Trust me. I claim it only because I have to, and my family is from here. Stick with Oak Grove and south or east of there. There's very little north until you hit Louisville or Indy.

Don't be a goober, OKW.:lol:



You mean I have options?

Wow I thought it was bad here in Atlantic Canada. :?:

-Jagg

The OP hasn't been back since 6 April to respond. Shame, as he may have got something from the various comments.

I think he did.......that we're all nuts.

Good comments. I find it very interesting how everyone has a different opinion on the subject. I honestly didn't expect to come back and see this many comments. I will be updating the website as soon as I possibly can but I am working around finals atm in school.

Thanks all for the comments! If anyone else has any insight let us know!